Since 1951, ODF has utilized Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) adults in custody (AIC) to help reforest and protect state forest lands. ODF trains and supervises adults in custody crews to perform a variety of key forest management and protection projects:
- Fire suppression
- Controlled burns and fuels reduction
- Reforestation
- Young stand management
- Pre-commercial thinning
- Brush removal
- Recreation infrastructure maintenance
- Forest road improvement
- Invasive weed removal and riparian rehabilitation
- Trash and debris clean up
This interagency partnership allows adults in custody to gain valuable work skills while providing economic, social, and environmental benefits for Oregonians.
South Fork Camp
While ODF currently utilizes adults in custody crews for fire protection out of several institutions statewide, the history of using adults in custody labor started with South Fork Forest Camp in 1951. South Fork Camp is the only DOC institution to be sited on Board of Forestry Lands and the only prison facility that is owned and jointly operated by two agencies. It is the largest and oldest work camp in the Pacific Northwest. Work crews perform forest management in eleven counties in northwest Oregon, assist with disaster relief efforts, and engage in fire suppression statewide. In a given year, South Fork Camp can produce up to 28,000 man days of skilled adults in custody labor saving the state millions in labor costs.
South Fork Camp's mission is to:
- Provide cost effective, skilled adults in custody labor to the State Forests and Fire Protection Programs
- Promote public safety by holding adults in custody accountable
- Reduce recidivism by modeling pro social behavior and teaching work skills that help adults in custody be productive citizens upon release
Read more about
South Fork Camp History.
Success after South Fork Camp video